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[Page 146]
by Lisa Nemirover
Translated from Hebrew by Eiden Harel Brewer, Noa Etzyon and Ofir Horovitz
When I remember the first few days of Hashomer Hale'umi[1] in Mizoch, I am taken back to my childhood. The years at the Polish school, reading many books about the heroism and sacrifices of Polish kids on behalf of their nation and country. I can still remember the strong impression the book “the Ship from the Green Hill” left on me. This book described the lives and responsibilities of the Polish scouts. Oh, how jealous I was of the Polish people! All I wanted was for us Jews to also have a scout program, working on behalf of our nation and country. To my joyful surprise, I found out that there was an upcoming initiative to institute a Hebrew scouts group called Hashomer Hale'umi. It was 1928, and I remember how happy and proud I was standing in front of my parents asking their permission to sign up. A Hebrew sabra[2] will never understand how overjoyed we were. We were thrilled to be able to sing a Hebrew song, and to march with a Hebrew flag. We were elated knowing that we Jews also have heroes, and we were working together to build us a homeland in the remote, yet near Eretz Israel. However, our happiness was short lived: the Polish government required a special permit for a Jewish movement, and receiving one was very difficult.
Our first gathering was at the house of Bechan. We began working to furnish and decorate it, but the police shut it down before we were done. We did not give up and we rented a new room at Langer's. There we worked quietly for a longer time. However, eventually, the police found out about our new location. Thus, we decided to work underground using private homes and even going outside. We were young, we had no guidance, support, financial means, or experience. Of all the other parents, only my father (may he rest in peace) was supporting us financially and giving us advice.
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He worked hard helping us to get the official permit for our organization and took on the role of the Executive Chair. To this day, I can still feel the bursting excitement and exhilaration we felt when we got the permit. We were elated to display the big, beautiful sign at our club's door, with the Scouts' symbol. The sign declared the club Poland's “Histadrut Hashomer Hale'umi”, Mizoch Branch” in Hebrew and Polish. From then on, the club became our regular place to meet. There, we had conversations, we danced and sang, and we also dreamt about our future in Israel.
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| Certificate of membership in “Hashomer Hale'umi” (Zionist Youth) |
Maintaining the club was costly beyond our reach. Many of our members were poor, and some could not get the money from their parents to pay the membership fee. So, we began working various jobs –mainly woodchopping– and we used the profits to keep the club running and also to establish a nice library. We were represented in all the Zionist institutions in town, and we were considered one of the best organizations. We were in close contact with the official leadership in Warsaw, from which we received materials and guidance for work. The Galil Leadership in Rivne also helped us in our everyday work. In our work we emphasized teaching the Hebrew language to all our members - the Shomrim. Nearly every Sabbath, we hiked through the forest, and we marched through town with our national flag.
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| The “Hashomer Haleumi” branch in Mizoch |
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One summer, we had a big celebration when the Ostroh branch came to visit us. They built their tents in the Sosinski forest. Those days, we spent our whole days and nights working with them in the forest.
I remember one morning a rumor spread in town, according to which the Polish scouts had attacked and vandalized our camps. I ran to the forest with all my might. When I got there, the war was still going. Member S. was attacked by a Polish man with a big knife, while trying to defend himself with a small, thin stick. I did not have time to think, and I jumped and disarmed the attacker. Ever since that incident, we were highly respected among the non-Jews. Even the Polish man who attacked member S., later came to our house, and asked me to not testify against him in court. Thanks to this incident, we were now more respected among the Jewish people, and our organization attracted older members. My sister, Rachel was one of the active members in that new cohort. She worked hard and was one of first immigrants to the Land of Israel from our branch.
Translator's Footnotes
by Reuven Melamed
Translated from Hebrew by Adam Lamb
In the early 1920s, after the establishment of Polish rule in western Ukraine, activity of the Zionist movement started in Mizoch. Our “Union” party was one of the first parties of this movement in Poland. Its founders were Shmuel Gentzberg, Yosef Kleinman, Shlomo Koppelman, and the writer of these columns. In 1928, with the expansion of the Zionist movement, the committee decided to establish a youth organization in order to teach the youth in the spirit of the movement of Aaron David Gordon.
In those days, there didn't yet exist in Poland a comprehensive center for the Gordonia organization or a unified youth movement. The movement then had several youth organizations in different names, under several different leaders. On the matter of a youth movement, we contacted the center in Warsaw. From there, they transferred us to the leadership of “Gordonia” in Galicia, and eventually the center in Galicia, under the leadership of Pinchas Lavon (then Lubianiker), organized a national youth movement called “Gordonia” all over Poland. The branch in Mizoch was therefore one of the first for this movement in Poland.
In the beginning, we concentrated on bringing the Hebrew language to the youth, conducting “conversations” about historical Zionist topics, and about the lives of the leaders of the Zionist movement.
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Only with the activation of the National Center's operation in Warsaw did we started to evolve in the right direction: we then received training material, instructions, and help in day-to day organizational work. Our practical work was expressed in actions for the Jewish National Fund and in education for agricultural work. Since the beginning of our first step, we preached for a working life in agriculture, so we decided to rent land and to grow vegetables in it with our own hands. Responsibility for the implementation was placed on members Shlomo Koppelman and Reuven Melamed. We then rented 10 dunams of land from a Jew, and without any experience, without guidance, and with restricted means, we started to grow all kinds of vegetables with considerable success. In this field of work, members Sara Kestenbaum, Deborah Koppelman, Sara Teller and Blyoma Likabornik excelled. On market day, there were our girls sitting together with the peasant women from the surrounding area, selling their produce to the customers. The Jews of the town enjoyed this spectacle a lot, and this was the talk of the day. From the money we received in exchange for the vegetables, we bought books for our library, and we signed up for all the publications of the labor movement in Poland and also the newspaper “Davar”.
When Reuven Melamed and Blyoma Likabornik left for training, a reorganization occurred in the branch management and the management accepted more, younger members, Yitzhak Port, Yacov Millhalter, Yechiel Likabornik, Taibel Kournik, and Rachel Gentzberg. The new leaders took it upon themselves to expand the framework and to integrate developing youth into the ranks of the movement. The mission was successful and then in 1933 “Gordonia” in Mizoch peaked in its development and numbered over a hundred people. At that time, the talents and dedication of Yitzhak Port (of blessed memory) started to stand out, and a lot of the success of the movement should be attributed to him. In addition to our work for the Jewish National Fund, we also participated in the celebrations of Lag B'Omer, the 20th of Tammuz, etc. Particularly memorable is our parade on Lag B'Omer, which was also attended by “Gordonia” from Dubno and the movement's training squad, which was organized on our initiative in Mizoch. The beginning of the training squad was disappointing. However, over time 40 members were accepted into the organization, from all parts of the country. We received work on the railroad and in Kapot's sawmill and also temporary work in the town. Among the members of the training squad there were several with education and teaching experience and with their help the squad organized different cultural enterprises. For example, Seder night in the squad was always unforgettable and attracted a large inquisitive crowd. Also, members of other organizations would come to participate in the squad's Seder celebration.
In 1933, Yacov Fishfaider immigrated to Israel. A year later Alter Gurevitch and in 1935, Deborah Koppelman, Haya Reznick, and Tova Likabornik. Before them, during the time of the Maccabiah in Israel, Reuven Melamed and Lioma Likabornik immigrated. As the graduates of the “Union” party and a large part of the leadership also made aliya,
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| “Gordonia” at a farewell party for Comrade Gurevitch's aliya |
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the young people of the movement who were educated in it from childhood took the helm: Gentzberg David, Moshe Feldman, Kornik Yosef, Gelman Yacov, Likabornik Yosef, Shvartzman Eliezer, Brinshtein Meir, and Abrach Aharon. Then, a difficult time began for us. The authorities put obstacles in the way of our development, the experienced ones among us immigrated to Israel, some split away from all activities, and many became indifferent. However, the activity did not stop and continued without a break. In 1936, Flaish Sara, Abrach Aharon, and later Moshe Likabornik, who is now a lieutenant colonel in the IDF, immigrated with Youth Aliya.
Shortly before the outbreak of the war, Avraham Shternberg also had managed to immigrate. With the outbreak of war and the division of Poland by the Germans and Soviets, Mizoch fell to Russia, and then the summer came to an end. The youth and all Zionist activities. The “Gordonia” archive was in Yacov Gelman's possession at the time, and he destroyed it with a hardened heart and great pain. The flag was cut into pieces and all the activists received a piece as a souvenir. Some of the members did not want to and could not come to terms with reality and were looking for ways to get to Israel. Gelman, Shvartzman, and Kournik got as far as Lida, which was then a smuggling station into Lithuania, but failed in their mission. At the end of the war, the survivors began to immigrate to Israel and almost all the survivors now reside in the country and some of them occupy important places and respectable positions in the country and in society.
by Yosef Ben Gedalyahu
Translated from Hebrew by Adam Lamb
In our town of Mizoch, almost all the young people were organized and affiliated with a Zionist youth organization. We had the “Union” party with its “Gordonia” youth movement. The Tzahar Alliance with its Betar youth movement, Meir Grosman's Hebrew State Party and “The National Guard” (Zionist Youth). Relations between the various parties and the youth unions were quite strained and only in certain areas such as fundraising and distribution of monies etc., was there any cooperation.
I joined “Gordonia” in 1929, when I was a ten-year-old boy; due to the lack of a government permit, the work was conducted in hiding and only on Shabbats and holidays. Serving as lecturers and instructors were Shmuel Gentzberg, Shlomo Koppelman, Yosef Kleinman, the late Avraham Gentzberg, and Reuven Melamed, who is very much alive and now a member of the Mishmar Hasharon Group. My group instructor was Jacob Likabornik.
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| “Gordonia” in Mizoch at the center for counselors from the “Union” party |
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The latter devoted all his time, energy, and knowledge to us. I especially remember the excursions we would make every Saturday at dawn; we would get up at 5:00 in the morning and hike until 8:30. At 9:00 we went out with our parents to the synagogue, for Shabbat prayer. We kept to this arrangement strictly, in order not to provoke the parents' objections to our actions in the movement. The success of our group raised morale, and despite the lack of a permit the number of members in “Gordonia” then reached close to one hundred. In the early 1930s, a training program of about 35 members was also organized with us. Among the members of the training program was Comrade Israel Zeltzer from Zdolbuniv, who had a lot of education and knowledge and also served as an emissary on behalf of the main leadership. Thanks to him the training program was on a high cultural level and the branch enjoyed him quite a bit. According to reliable information, he perished in the Warsaw ghetto during the uprising, participating and acting on behalf of the movement. Blessed be his memory.
As for inter-party tension, I remember the case when we invited the “Gordonia” branch in Dubna to come to us and celebrate Lag B'Omer together. The local leadership placed the responsibility for performing these celebrations on my group, called “Awakening”. We worked out an entire plan and we determined that the next morning we would go out to the forest and clear our camp on the hill in the middle of the forest, which had beautiful stairs and a suitable grass surface. Easy access, etc. We would arrange a field kitchen and welcome the guests with a hot meal made by us.
However, Betar became aware of this decision. When we arrived at the place, the hill was already enclosed by ropes and on it was the camp of the Betar platoon… We immediately gathered for an urgent meeting and decided not to get into a fight with Betar, and instead we immediately went to work strenuously to prepare another place for our camp. Our whole group worked then at night and so did Israel Zeltzer, arriving on foot from Rivne, who joined the work despite his fatigue. At the dawn of Lag B'Omer, our camp was standing. We were able to build it at the entrance to the forest, we built a beautiful and large gate on which the national flags were hoisted. Out of pinecones we strung together the symbol of the movement that hung in the middle of the camp, and we were filled with joy. We came out ahead, because, since our camp was set up at the entrance to the forest, all those who came to celebrate the holiday in the forest visited us.
The activity of the parties always intensified in preparation for the distribution of funds and reached a peak as election time approached the Zionist Congress. Although the main work was placed on the shoulders of the adult members of the parties, the members of the youth movement also worked hard. Members of the “Union” party, who had close ties with the residents of the city, took advantage of every opportunity to distribute funds. Moshe Mendyuk, who is currently
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| The “Awakening” group in the “Gordonia” branch |
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in Uruguay and who was a member of the municipal charity fund committee, distributed money to all those in need of the fund, without exception. The late David Gentzberg and I, who were among the worshippers in the Kloyz[1] of the Trisk Hasidim, were assigned to distribute funds in those circles. With the help of Michael Nemirover, a member of the Zionist Youth but a good friend of ours, we succeeded in the task.
As election time approached, all parties sought to bring to town the best of their leaders, well-known names, good speakers, to influence voters.
In 1938, sometime before the 24th of the month of Shevat, the day of the death of A. D. Gordon, we learned from the main leadership circular that Comrade Pinchas Lubianiker would attend a convention of training groups from the “Nativ” organization in the nearby city of Dubno. We immediately went to Warsaw and asked that Comrade Lubianiker also come to Mizoch. Based on a courteous, authorized but non-binding answer, we issued a permit for Lubianiker's lecture, but two days before the day of the lecture, a telegram arrived, which read: “Lubianiker in Romania – Lev will come”. On the advice of one of our comrades, we did not reveal the matter to anyone. First, the permit for the lecture was in the name of Lubianiker, and as for his replacement with another speaker, it would be enough for the police to revoke the permit. Second, we did not want to jeopardize the promised success for Lubianiker. And this is how it became known to many, only when the chairman of the assembly gave the floor permission not to Pinchas Lubianiker, only to Attorney Lev… The assembly itself was successful on all counts, but of course we failed tactically. However, after many efforts, we succeeded in bringing Lubianiker to lecture a few days before the election for the Congress, and he was a huge success.
The night before election day, young people had a night of guard duty. We painted all the fences, walls, sidewalks and roads with different slogans and posters. We made sure to keep an eye on anyone considering leaving the city at dawn to bring outsiders to the polls, and we did not stop the publicity until the last minute. The police forced the Jews to wash the slogans from the sidewalks and the road, but since we put a special glue in the whitewash, they could not wash the text, but rather the water added luster to the posters, and the cops came to terms with our work.
Gordonia's impact on the city was very notable. Apart from our training squad, we also had influence in the drama club under Mr. Fidelman's management, in the charity fund, in the bank, and in all the municipal institutions. The branch and especially the training squad enjoyed the support and help of several well-known families; among them I will especially remember the help of Shmuel Bonis and his wife, Shmuel Pliter and his wife, the Nemirover's, the Gentzberg's, the Breisman's, Shpanover, and others.
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| The branch saying goodbye to Reuven Melamed and Lioma Likabornik, who are making aliya |
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The soccer team called ZKS (Zhidovsky Club Sportovi) was along party lines and was at a high level. Among its outstanding players that should be mentioned are Asher Kantor, B. Langer, J. Mizoch, and Yishayahu Milgalter, the son of ritual slaughterer [kosher butcher] Yosef David, who was deaf and mute from birth. This guy, despite his disability, was accepted in society, because apart from being a tall and handsome guy, he knew how to dance beautifully, play chess and in almost all sports took a top place… Shortly before the war, our team overcame the team of the Polish cavalry, which camped in our town, causing a savage attack on our players by the Polish mob. The approach of the war and the antisemitism that grew in Poland put an end to the party quarrels and caused a mutual rapprochement and sincere friendship between the members of Gordonia, Betar, and the National Guard. With the occupation of Mizoch by the Red Army, several attempts were made to reach the state of Israel via Lithuania, Romania, or Russia, but all failed. Yacov Gelman, Eliezer Shvartzman, and I secretly left Mizoch and reached the city of Lida, because we were aware that in this city there were members of the movement from the center, who smuggled people to Lithuania. Even the people closest to us did not know about our departure.
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| A newspaper wall in the “Gordonia” club |
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| Gordonia's training squad in Mizoch |
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We arrived at Lida in one piece and rented a room in a Jewish hotel. We spoke Hebrew to each other, so that the Gentiles living in the hotel would not understand our words.
When the maid, who worked cleaning the rooms, heard our Hebrew conversation, she turned to us in the same language and asked where we were headed. Later in the conversation with her, it became clear that she was placed in this job on behalf of the movement, to direct members to the headquarters of the operation.
Half an hour later we met David Klonitzky – now living in Ma'aleh Hahamishah – and we were scheduled to cross the border in a few days through the town of Ashmyany. Unluckily for us, the Red Army conquered Lithuania and it became Soviet the day before we were about to cross into Lithuania…
Disappointed, we returned home and tried to leave the country via Romania, but we failed here too. In the meantime, many of us were drafted into the Soviet army, war broke out between Russia and Germany, and Mizoch was defeated. Out of the thousands from that cheerful village full of life, 19 survivors remain. Most of them are now in Israel and are rebuilding their lives in our free country.
Translator's Footnote
by Moshe Feldman
Translated from Hebrew by Shira Zur
The Gordonia chapter in Mizoch was organized in the year 1928 at the initiative of leaders from Hitachdut: the members S. Gentzberg, I. Kleinman, S. Koppelman, and R. Melamed. There were fitting circumstances that allowed for the creation of the movement, because the majority of the young adults weren't connected to any other organizations and sought to organize a Zionist cultural and educational movement.
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From its beginning, the movement pronounced itself a pioneering movement in the spirit of A.D. Gordon, and the chapter gathered 120 members filled with Zionist spirit and ambition to act and implement their goals.
The first activists in the chapter were members of the Magshimim group made up of older teens and high school graduates. These members were the heavy lifters of theoretical ideas, conceptual thinking, and training of educational forces in line with the movement. A majority of the group went out to training locations and immigrated to Israel. The others stayed because of all sorts of reasons – mostly because of their families – and continued to work in the chapter.
The members of the group that immigrated to Israel were: R. Melamed, B. Likabornik, T. Shinfeld, M. Shinfeld, T. Likabornik, A. Shternberg, Y. Fishfaider, C. Reznick, S. Teller, D. Koppelman (z”l)[1], Gurevitch Alter. Later on, Y. Malgelter, Giebel Riesel.
The vibrant energy of the chapter came from the Mitorerim group, which consisted of teens ages 12-16 years old, including me. They were young boys and girls who all spoke fluent Hebrew, and whose teachers were Y. Gelberg, Y. Shohat, M. Gornzel, L. Dayan., L. This group was well-known for its exemplary behavior, and its members acted as role models for other Mizoch youth movements that were active at the time, such as Hashomer Haleumi and Beitar. In addition to the pioneering education, we were given instruction related to sport and physical education. The clubhouse of the chapter flourished and gained traction, attracting all of the teens in town, mostly due to comrade Yakov Gelman's hard work.
Our expenses were funded through work we did during our free time from studies, such as cutting down trees, digging holes, and all sorts of different jobs that were necessary for the residents in the town. Education came through lectures and conversations that were conducted by the knowledgeable members from “HaMagshimim”; they helped expand the knowledge of the younger members. We put emphasis on scouting; we strived to take the members out to outdoor events in the fields and forest to build their relationship with nature. In the summer we'd go early every Saturday morning to the nearby forest to practice scouting skills, and during our breaks we would hold conversations and classes taught by the following members: I. Port, Y. Likabornik, Y. Likabornik, B. Kantor.
Lag B'Omer became a big event; during the holiday, all the youth groups from the area would meet at the nearby forest. We would walk through the town and towards the forest in a beautiful procession, portraying discipline and exemplary order; it made a strong impression on not only the Jews, but also on the Polish and Ukrainian communities in the area.
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In the forest we would spend all day singing and dancing, and participating in various sports activities. Our group would participate in every Zionist activity in town, such as donating to the Jewish National Fund, organizing Purim and Hanukkah dances whose profits were given to the Jewish National Fund, and fundraising for the Zionist congresses.
We were very active during the Zionist congress election days. Thanks to that activity, we also connected the parents to the Zionist movement, and the Zionist ideas also filled their ranks.
During this time, we moved from the Giebel House to a bigger meeting space in the center of town in the Bernshtein House. The chapter continued to grow and more young members continued to join, fitting well socially into our group. Our academics and our parties for the 24th of Shevat in remembrance of A.D. Gordon developed a reputation for having a rich artistic component that we ourselves produced, under the direction of Y. Malgelter, Tova and Isaac Port, Eizenegret Gittel, and Reznik Haya. During the parties, we would invite the members from the Hitachdut party, the Hachshara[2] group, and our parents. Attention was given also to handing out the movement's newsletter, Slovo Mlodych, which came out in Polish and was sent to us from Warsaw. We had a strong bond with the Hachshara group of the movement that was formed in Mizoch by the main leadership at the Batzan House. The party had 30 members who lived as a collective and trained to immigrate to Israel. They worked at the Kapot sawmill, at a sugarcane processing plant, and at the train station loading apples and grains onto export train cars. Party members worked hard to gear the public's attention towards our local branch's fundraising efforts.
From an organizational point of view, we were in contact with the main leadership in Lodz and Warsaw, and we spoke directly with the regional leadership in Rivne.[3] We participated in regional ceremonies that mostly took place in partnership with shlichim from the Land of Israel, and one of the chapter's significant experiences was the visit of member Pinhas Lubianker (Pinhas Lavon) in Mizoch from the main leadership of the movement. Moving the chapter to a new location in Gilman House strengthened the chapter in an organizational way; the clubhouse was decorated in good taste, and a lot of thought and work went into decorating the Jewish National Fund corner. During the same time, Yisrael Zeltzer (z”l)), from the main instruction organization, was sent over; he contributed a lot to the strengthening of the chapter through his instruction, and his lectures drew the club members closer to the movement and its ideas. Through the chapter's initiative, members from the younger grade, A. Abrach, Sarah Fleisch Shoham, M. Likabornik-Gat, moved to Israel.
In 1939, as the Soviet army entered the town, it became necessary to discontinue the Zionist movement. The chapter's archives and flag were hidden, and the town's Zionist movement was uprooted.
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Some of the members left in secret in the direction of the Lithuanian border to Grodno with the intention of getting to the Land of Israel, but they weren't able to and they came back. Some of them went to the Russian steppes and from there, through many twists and turns, were able to achieve their mission.
The teen members who stayed in Mizoch, and among them the members of Gordonia, were captured by the murderers and were murdered with the rest of the Jews in the town. Those that remained alive from the group are: A. Abrach, Yakov Gelman, M. Feldman, E. Shvartzman, Y. Kornick, Y. Likabornik, M. Likabornik-Gat, Sarah Fleisch Shoham, Y. Berzner, M. Bernshtein, B. Tentzer-Shvartzman, Y. Feldman, Latochin (Morak) Haya, T. Gentzberg, Shtivel Anita.
Translator's Footnotes
by Moshe Perlock
Translated from Hebrew by Hadar Khazzam-Horovitz
Taking a pen in hand and reminiscing about the times before the Holocaust, it's like taking a sharp chisel and poking a deep wound that has never healed ...
Memories always have a sequel, because they tell of life and events that were and which formed the background to the present and the future. A person who reminisces about his personality or a period of time deals with past events. But at the same time, they keep flooding him without cessation. Each section of the “memories” constitutes a link to an ongoing action and a basis for additional steps.
The memories that will be raised here are different, for this memorial book is a lamentation in which we must revive events and talk about lives and actions that ceased even as they emerged. And this is especially painful when it is about youth - a gentle seed, cut short at the time of its growth and development. I must talk about a wonderful plant, which grew in a cold and harsh climate, yet despite the difficulties it rose and flourished. This was possible because its roots fed on the spring of hope and its growth was influenced by dreams of the future.
And a terrible conflagration burst out, and the plant burned and perished.
Reviving that past, and talking about the Mizoch youth in general and the Beitar youth movement in particular, involves an enormous emotional effort. To evoke these memories, I must resurrect that time with all its heroes; exhume from their graves all the pure souls, and with them relive that happy and wonderful period.
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* * *
Nature had been gracious to Mizoch and surrounded it by forests, groves and hills whose beauty is indescribable.
The Jewish residents loved nature, and the youth took every opportunity to leave the city to spend time outdoors, climb the hills outside the city, and hike in the forest thickets.
The area within which the youth could travel was limited. Within a radius of tens of kilometers surrounding Mizoch -- whose center was purely inhabited by Jews – there was a tangled network of villages, whose Ukrainian inhabitants stirred up anti-Semitic venom. Any trip outside of the city would have been accompanied by concern and calculation, to what extent it would entail danger from Gentiles, old and young.
I remember when the local Jews used to travel on their business to the big cities, they would organize large convoys just in case. If they were late to return, their relatives would be concerned lest a disaster had happened to their loved ones. Indeed, there was room for concerns, because there were times when the forests swarmed with bandit gangs and killers who harassed the Jews. Many of the residents often recited the “Gomel” blessing after their encounters with these gangs, grateful for returning “only” hurt and robbed. Every time my father returned from his long and distant travels, we saw him as if he was newly reborn, because it was very common at the time to throw Jews from the trains.
When I was brave and rode my bike to Rivne, Ostroh, Dubno, etc, I was seen as someone risking his own life. Even later, in more “quiet” times, when I left with my bike traveling around Poland to a Beitar convention in Warsaw, it was seen as a big operation. Not because of the athletic nature of this trip, but because of daring to take the risk of a Jew alone, passing through the villages and cities of the Gentiles.
Such was the climate and the atmosphere in which the youth of Mizoch grew and developed.
* * *
The First World War, which began in 1914, did not end for Mizoch and its surroundings in 1918. It continued with all its aftermath, conquests and retreats that occurred for several more years. These events left their mark and disrupted life in this town and its surroundings. The connection with the wider world was disrupted, and the echoes of what happened in the Jewish-Zionist sphere came late and in fragments. It is no wonder that because of the geographical situation of the city
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| A group of “Beitar” members in Mizocz |
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and the special status of its Jewish residents, the youth were far from any national aspirations.
I spent most of my youth in the well-known city of Ostroh, where my family lived for several years. When my parents returned to Mizoch, near the time of the Bolshevik invasion, I continued to study in Ostroh and I came to my parents' house in Mizoch during the holidays and summer vacation. With each visit, my heart ached over the condition of the Mizoch youth. Despite being inexperienced at that time, I decided to work on behalf of the young people My friend, Asher Gilberg (Ben Oni), shared my pain and my decision. We had many thoughts about how and in what ways to awaken the youth from their inactivity and motivate them to act. We both decided that at first, the youth should be organized in a scout movement, for fear that a Zionist youth movement (then “Hashomer Hatzair”) might get a cold reception from their parents. To excite the youth, we both decided that in the upcoming vacation, upon my return to Mizoch, I must bring with me all the accessories used in the scout movement (sticks, buttons and shiny numbers for uniforms ribbons, etc). And that is how the scout movement was established in those days, which the best of the Mizoch youth joined.
The movement multiplied and in slow but sure, calculated steps, we instilled in it the ideology of Zionist work. The Zionist plowing done in this way was carried out in an open field. The heart of this youth had opened wide, absorbing knowledge of the glorious past of its people, and ignited within it was the fire of longing for return to Zion.
In this youth there arose contempt for the diaspora and the humiliation to which they had been subjected for generations. Also there arose longings for freedom, moral conviction, and great hopes for the future.
The Zionist fire expanded and gripped all the young people. Social life was buzzing and filled with faith. The youth were swept away under the influence this ferment and motivated to be part of the Zionist work.
The scout movement reached its goal and ended its role. And then came the turn of the Zionist youth movements.
* * *
In the second half of the 1920s, political and social life returned to normal. The invasions and wars ceased, and Mizoch opened its gates to the winds blowing in the Jewish and Zionist world. The Zionist youth movements also infiltrated this town, and the youth began to look for their way among the tangled and winding paths.
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* * *
When I visited Mizoch on one of my days off, I brought the idea of the Beitar movement.
The name Jabotinsky and its teachings provoked a wave of enthusiasm among many of the youth, who saw in political Zionism the rapid and only way to fulfill the messianic dream – the establishment of the Hebrew state. The youth responded to the call of the great teacher and leader Ze'ev Jabotinsky. And by joining the Beitar movement, the youth felt that they were on the right path leading them through the great Herzlian Zionism to their country.
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| The “Yardenia” group takes leave of Syoma Oliker on his departure for Israel |
Beitar was established. Then began the cultural work, drilling exercises, camps, and trainings. The youth worked with great dedication and devotion, along with military discipline and the love for their destiny. Everything was done thoroughly and at the same time hastily, as if they foresaw the future – operating with the feeling that they should hurry so they would not be late…
* * *
In my mind's eye I can see the long gallery of boys and girls, the youth and the young men and women, appear and pass. And I see again the same dear youth of Beitar, at work, full of energy, dedication, self-confidence
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First row from right to left: Asher Gelberg, Sarah Pogorilitzer, Asher Bat and the teacher Yitzchak Shochet |
[Page 169]
and happy with the task they have undertaken.
From the conversations that took place in the Beitar branch, I realized that the youth felt they were living in an historical period during which the fate of our people would be determined. And that there was no escape from fighting on a real battlefield to achieve this goal.
More than once during conversations, I heard promises that amazed me with their determination to follow this difficult path, and to proudly carry as a banner the vision of Hebrew independence.
I remember that, with the establishment of Beitar, I had concerns about its fate and its future. I was afraid that its noble ideas would not be accepted into the hearts of these youth, who did not grow up nor were educated in a Zionist environment. But how proud and happy I was to see the vast reservoir of intense love that arose within their gentle hearts for the people of Israel and their land. More than once I was amazed at the youth's readiness for heroic deeds, and their proud self-sacrifice.
Given such loyalty to the movement, it was only natural that quarrels, bitter arguments, and tensions between Beitar and other youth movements began to form. Each of the movements tried to prove that only its ideology was correct and true. However, even when the fury was escalating, the entire Mizoch youth fought – not for the petty hegemony of our movement, but for the way in which they should hurry and build their country. Deep in their soul within, somewhere hidden, everyone believed that one day the limbs of the nation would once again be united to form a whole body, with one shared purpose and destiny.
At the same time as the Beitar movement, the other branches of the Revisionist movement: “Hatzahar”, and “Brit Hachayal”, operated and developed in Mizoch. The whole Revisionist family, the Jabotinsky disciples, carried within their soul the same grand ideal, the same great hope, uplifting self-belief, and longings for redemption. Altogether, the adults and the young had a collective aspiration and a wonderful spirit beating in their hearts.
* * *
I am approaching the end of my description of these collective aspirations, along with the illusion that these longings have been fulfilled. The illusion that all these dear souls - all the people of Mizoch -- are alive and live in the land to which they aspired.
And how great is the pain that I must break away from the glorious past, and face once again the bitter and disappointing reality: the reality that the youth and Zionist camp of Mizoch did not arrive at their shared goal, but rather a mass grave.
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Among the first to respond to my call to form the Beitar movement was Shamai Oliker of blessed memory, who saw the purpose of his life in this movement and worked for it tirelessly, with dedication and love. He was fascinated by the idea of the Hebrew state, left a rich and spacious home,
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| The first “Beitar” command post in Mizocz under the leadership of Moshe Perliuk (in the middle with glasses) |
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a carefree life, a society immersed in the delusions of a comfortable diaspora life, and immigrated to Israel in 1934. However, while working at the Dead Sea his health deteriorated, and he died prematurely in Jerusalem in 1958. Among the first members of the Beitar movement in Mizoch were Avraham Rozenblat, Faivel Meizlitsh, Bozi Berman, Dov Flitter, and many others, who all perished in the Holocaust.
I am sure they gave back their pure souls to their Creator, with the slogan “Tel Hai” on their lips. In their minds they were seeing, for the last time, the land in which they wanted to live and for which they were willing to die.
Their memory will be kept in our hearts forever.
by Asher Ben-Oni
Translated from Hebrew by Jonah Silverstein
Here he is at seventeen; handsome, healthy, smart, and devoted to Beitar like few others in the movement. But G-d punished him and he was born deaf
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| Yesheyahu the deaf-mute |
and mute. When the Beitar organization was founded in Mizoch, one day “Yesheyahu the Mute” (as he was known in the town) entered and submitted an application, signed in his own hand, to join the cell and they accepted him to fulfill all of the obligations of the cell. Afterward, his father, the ritual slaughterer, entered and informed us of his son's hardships and suffering since no one would accept him into any organization. But, without even waiting to answer they informed him himself that he was accepted. His eyes full of silent sorrow lit up, and suddenly tears– tears of joy and happiness– were seen in them. He stood for another moment, stared into space, and uttered a few strange syllables– then left. Who knows what those syllables meant.
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The next day, Yesheyahu appeared in the cell in full Beitar uniform. Weeks passed and months; he lived in the cell, participated in the discussions and meetings, participated in trips, and became– another. The melancholy left him, he cast off the nervousness and the agony. Afterward, happiness and joy were always on his face.
I visited the town, and after my lecture in the cell hall, Yesheyahu approached me and showed me the picture of the head of Beitar and asked if I had met him…the commander who stood next to him indicated that he should explain the difference between Beitar and Gordonia. Yesheyahu made gestures to hint at Aliyah and work. He wanted to say that Gordonia wants to travel to Israel and labor there. He straightened up– and with piercing eyes, he surveyed me to determine if he had made an impression on me. He then gestured to the Beitarists who surrounded me and continued. He paused and took the stance of a shooter, by which he meant that we (Beitar) travel to Israel both to work and to defend it…when I saw him sitting during a conversation or a lecture I almost didn't believe that he was deaf and mute, he showed such great interest and attention when he listened.
Slowly, with extraordinary diligence and patience, he learned the Hebrew alphabet and how to write syllables, names, concepts, and more. In the Beitar cell, there were already people who understood him and who he understood. Because of this, he was familiar with all the internal affairs of the cell and the movement.
Then came the days of Tammuz, 1933. The cell stood at a dangerous front with plotters who brought proof of the Revisionist Zionists' guilt for the murder.[1] It was dangerous to be seen in the street in a Beitar uniform. It is not known from where, but the fact is that the mute Yesheyahu understood what had happened and what was going on. He was the first to wear his ceremonial uniform in the street. He would buy “Moment” newspaper[2] and ask us to explain to him what was written on it. The hakhshara[3] unit then lacked working hands. Yesheyahu joined the line as a volunteer and urged all his troop to do the same. His dedication and hard work served as and continue to serve as an exemplar to this day. Meanwhile, the cell was preparing for their trip to Rivne to attend the lecture of the head of Beitar. Yesheyahu decided to travel there to put before our leadership a request for himself to be allowed to make Aliyah.
Rivne was bustling with crowds of Beitarists. The leftists incited and attacked a few Beitarists. There was also a rumor in the city that the leftists and the reds would disrupt the speech of the head of Beitar.
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With his healthy instincts, Yesheyahu sensed the seriousness of the situation. His eyes were embittered, gloomy, and he finally disappeared. After many searches to find him, they found him standing guard in the hotel lobby where the head of Beitar was staying. He did not then appear before the head of Beitar. However, he returned home happy because he had seen the leader.
Now he is undergoing professional training, gaining both knowledge and voice training– who could compare to him? In the P.S.C. Battalion,[4] he was the most outstanding and completed each action without error and with vigorous precision; in the defensive exercises, there was no one like him in the cell. In his pocket, you would find a Beitar certificate, a Dinar, vouchers from the Tel Hai Foundation and the JNF, photos, and newspapers. Despite his young age, he lives by the sweat of his brow, through hard and tiring work, and hopes for the day when his dream will come true– to make Aliyah to his homeland.[5]
Translator's Footnotes
by Moshe Feldman
Translated from Hebrew by Caleb Bilodeau
An organized Jewish educational institution with a group of qualified teachers did not exist in Mizoch. Despite the relative wealth of the Jewish residents, the many attempts made by some parents and activists to establish a Tarbut school[1] were not successful. All Jewish youth received their elementary education in the Polish elementary school, which was of high standard and quality and did damage to the souls of the Jewish youth. The wealthy and the rich absorbed the values of Polish culture, spoke the language, read books in Polish and many also continued their studies in high schools in Rivne or Ostroh whose language of instruction was Polish. However, most of the youth, and especially the boys, received a traditional and Hebrew education with private teachers after their studies in the Polish school, The traditional cheder[2] had already disappeared from the horizon and was replaced by an institution more similar to a classroom in a modern school than to a cheder. The oldest among the Hebrew teachers in my time was the late Rabbi Yeshayahu Gilberg. As a member of a magnificent and wealthy family with many descendants rooted in Jewish tradition, he knew how to impart Torah to his pupils with reverence. He educated an entire generation of students, and in addition to teaching Hebrew and religious studies, he taught Russian, Polish, German and more. He used to hold his classes in his apartment and gave private lessons in the students' homes. He was a native of Mizoch,
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Most of the graduates were Jews. Among the visible teachers were three Jews: Jania Shissel, Yitzhak Shochat, and Finkel the pharmacist. |
[Page 175]
childless, respected and admired by all the residents. He acquired his extensive education on his own and died several years before the Holocaust.
Among the good teachers whose tuition was highest was teacher Yitzhak Shochat. He came to Mizoch in 1921 from Rivne at the invitation of some wealthy parents and immediately introduced the Sephardi pronunciation to the study of Hebrew. He also brought to the city textbooks, which until his arrival were not known in that place; his studies were at an appropriate level. Sometime later, another teacher like him, Leib Dayan.came to Mizoch. These two teachers greatly influenced the local youth, inspiring them and bringing them closer to the Zionist movement. They conducted study classes in their homes, would give lessons in private homes, and were also very active in public Zionist work; their influence was known in the town. After Teacher Dayan emigrated from Mizoch, Teacher Moshe Gornzl took his place. This teacher followed in the footsteps of his predecessor. He was active in the Hitachdut party, and thanks to his good manners and knowledge, he acquired a large circle of students and many fans. His students spoke Hebrew to each other and were active in the Zionist youth movements.
For beginners and less able students, there were several more teachers, both locals and from outside. Such as Teacher Asher Zelig Krisk, Teacher Singer from Austria, Herschel Reznik, and the brothers Herschel and Feivish Milhalter (sons of R. Reuven the butcher). They would go around from house-to-house teaching Torah to Jewish children for a very meager salary. All the teachers, including the “greats,” always worked in difficult conditions and their livelihood was meager. Our town of Mizoch was and remained Zionist until the bitter end, and almost all its youth knew Hebrew. This must be credited to all those teachers who, with devotion and loyalty, instilled in the hearts of young people love and respect for their people and their country – a fondness and appreciation for the Hebrew language and ancestral tradition. May their memory be blessed forever.
Translator's Footnotes
by Arbi
Translated from Hebrew by Caleb Bilodeau
The events of 1929 in Eretz Israel[1] greatly depressed the Jews of Mizoch. The news on Polish radio about what was happening in the country was fragmented, unclear and sometimes just totally lacking. The Jews' desire was to know about what was happening in the land of their hopes and so circulation of newspapers went up and up.
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At that time, there was one active youth labor union in Mizoch, Hashomer Haleumi. “The Gordonia Federation” included young people beyond the age of twenty and had only begun an attempt to organize school-age youth in its ranks.
The lively young people did not have the patience to wait until the newspaper arrived from far-off Warsaw with the return of Nahum Tzipak from the train station, as he would slowly distribute newspapers. They would go out every day to greet the next train – a walk of 2 kilometers – in order get ahead in reading the news in “Haint”[2] or in “Moment.” And the news was gloomy and sad. The bloody riots continued, every day Jews were falling from bullets and Arab knives. Jewish property was looted or set on fire and the English were unable to restore order in Eretz Israel and ensure the continued building of the homeland. Consolation for their angry feelings would be found in increased action on behalf of the Jewish National Fund and in articles in the newspapers which promised to establish two new settlements in place of each destroyed settlement and to bring ten new Jews to Israel in place of each murdered Jew…
One Sunday of the month of Elul[3] 1929, when the “Hashomer Haleumi” branch returned from a scout operation in the forest, we were surprised by the visit of the nearby Markovich Betar. The Betar members arrived with a police permit, dressed in beautiful uniforms. They marched through the streets of the city with Hebrew song on their lips and demonstrated some military exercises. Since almost all the Betar members had relatives, acquaintances or friends in Mizoch, all parties enjoyed this surprising visit.
In the evening, when the businesses closed and the streets were filled with people out walking, the Betar members stood at the corners of the main streets and handed out leaflets called “Stop and Read” published by the main headquarters of Betar in Warsaw, in three languages: Hebrew, Yiddish and Polish.
In this leaflet we read for the first time about the establishment of a Hebrew army to fight Arab terrorism, about a Hebrew state in the entire territory of Eretz Israel, and that a land is not bought with money but truly with blood and a difficult war. The leaflet ended with a call for Hebrew youth to join the ranks of Betar in order to achieve these goals.
In those days, World War I was still well remembered: the people were imbued with a so-called humane spirit and believed in general disarmament, in the canceling of wars, the Brotherhood of Nations and the League of Nations. They dreamed then about “Pan-Europe.” The Socialist movement was gaining momentum, sympathy for Moscow penetrated all strata and ideological currents, and no one believed that Hitler would rise
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on the throne of the German Chancellor. The pamphlet distributed by the Betar members therefore seemed foreign and somewhat strange.
I'm Hungry, Kostia Riabtsev's Diary, All Quiet on the Western Front, I Burn Paris,[4] and the like were the most read books back then. Every self-respecting young Jew who wanted to be considered “progressive” or intelligent read these books. They also read other Marxist literature and political-economy and delved into the teachings of Martin Buber. The Zionist goal was understood as an aspiration to concentrate in the Land of Israel the best and brightest of the Hebrew people – to be an example to the world proving how to build a land without war and bloodshed…
The Revisionist teaching “Jews should be like all the Gentiles”[5] was too bold for the Jews of the Pale of Settlement[6]. They called the first Betar chapters “wooden swords and straw rifles.” However, along with the ridicule of the Revisionists' “castles in the air,” the enthusiasm for the regal and stately etiquette of Betar also increased.
And then the bloody events broke out in Eretz Israel.[7] Revisionist propaganda infiltrated its ideas into the hearts of the lost and searching youth and acquired followers in all places of the Jewish settlement.
The first branch of the Revisionist movement in Mizoch was established by Moshe Perliuk in 1930 when he returned to Mizoch during days off from the Gymnasium[8] in Rivne. Already in its early days, Betar was a great organizational success. It was joined by youth from the existing Histadrut, and most importantly, many unaffiliated youths were fascinated by Jabotinsky's idea of establishing a Hebrew army that would free them from the yoke of strangers who had plundered the Homeland. The joining of some young people, who were far from Jews and Zionism and immersed in a life of pleasures, made a great impression. These youth would never have come to Zionist activities without the Jabotinsky movement. At the head of this group stood Sioma Olicker. Immediately after joining Betar, he discarded all his usual habits, company, and activities and devoted himself entirely to the movement. When Perliuk immigrated to Eretz Israel, Sioma was appointed to command our chapter. Under his leadership, the Betar in Mizoch reached its peak success. The chapter's clubhouse was acquired in the largest and most beautiful building in town, the home of Wasserman. The chapter numbered about three hundred young people of all ages and strata, and it conducted very diverse cultural, sporting and organizational activity. Several of the locals were sent for military training, who successfully completed major courses and later served as certified guides in that place. Betar's orderly exercises and processions were arousing obvious envy in the Christian population, and more than once they also received praise from the commanders of the Polish army.
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The cultural work in the chapter was also of a high standard and was praised by the Betar Commissionary. The bulletin board founded by Asher Gilberg and the course for settlers run by him served as an example to other chapters. The Betar artistic club was very popular in the city and always attracted an audience of many hundreds for each of its performances. Betar in Mizoch was considered one of the best and most powerful branches of the movement in Poland. Over time, a branch of Hatzohar[9] and Brit Hachayal was also organized. After Sioma Olicker made Aliyah,[10] Abraham Rosenblatt served as chapter commander. At the time, a cell of the Irgun[11] was established in the chapter and many organized to make Aliyah. The war put an end to all hopes and dreams. Betar's commanders and managers dispersed and even those who remained could only meet from time to time and dream of the glorious past. In the ghetto, some of them tried again to organize and plan operations, but did not succeed. Only one of the members of Betar Mizoch fought the Germans and knocked down dozens of them. He would later fall in the war with the Germans with a weapon in his hands: this was Izya Wasserman (may G-d avenge his blood).
All the others met their death in the mass grave in the Sosenki Forest or in hiding places in the forest or in the villages.
Translator's Footnotes
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